A MAN has avoided jail after getting caught with a lock knife due to ill health, a court heard.

Simon Peter MacLellan was stopped with a blade in Sharlands Road, Fareham.

The 39-year-old of Redlands Lane, also in Fareham was charged with carrying a bladed article in a public place.

Appearing before Portsmouth Magistrates' Court, he pleaded guilty to the offence which happened on July 6 this year.

He was jailed for two months.

However, according to court documents, the sentence was suspended for six-months due to the defendant's ill health.

MacLellan has been ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge.